by Pixie James
“Get me into the male dorm.” The chair squeaks as I lean back and cross my arms.
“You know it is against school rules. I will summon him tomorrow.”
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure what you and Ha’Jahn did is frowned upon as well, but who’s judging, right? Get me in there to talk to Nix.”
Te’Lara rubs her temple. “Let me contact Te’Dash, my counterpart in the male dorm. I need to figure out how to persuade him without divulging your situation.”
She picks up the phone and turns away to dial, so I shuffle over to the window to look outside. The view from her office is beautiful. It overlooks the south side of the campus. It’s less cluttered, with fewer buildings and more trees. The forest from outside the Academy walls bleeds into the open areas, gradually thinning until it meets the small patch of flowers planted along the sidewalks.
I bet it’s gorgeous when it snows, if it even does. The temperature here has been pleasantly mild in comparison to where I used to live. There, it was either icemageddon or Satan’s butt crack. In Texas, there’s never an in between.
“Yes. Very well. No, do not alert him. Just ensure he does not leave. Thank you, Dash. We will be there shortly.” Te’Lara hangs up the phone and grabs the long flowy coat hanging off the hook near her desk. “Come along. Te’Dash has made arrangements for us.”
“Really? He didn’t seem to give you much push back.” That happened quicker than expected. Xebulins take their protocol very seriously. They…we don’t really have much of a choice since our acceptance on Earth is conditional.
She straightens her robe, her hand lingering on the fold that sits in the middle of her chest. “Yes, well. He owes me.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The wind carries a harsh chill, and I stare up at the sky, enjoying the last moments of the sunset. Te’Lara and I can’t be seen inside the male dorm, so we have to enter through the back, and in order to do that we have to trek halfway across the school’s property to avoid the party spots people hang out at after curfew.
The three-story building looks very similar to the one we are housed in, except there is a much more noticeable smell. Cologne and sweaty feet. Just what I needed after spending two weeks next to Huey’s stink.
“Beloved Xebulin…” Huey warns.
I turn back before I go through the door and narrow my eyes at him. “Stop listening in on my thoughts. Seriously. And you have to stay outside. You’re not coming in here. The last thing I need is you going all attack mode and causing a commotion.”
“I will not.”
Huey trots past me, shoving his way in, and nudges Te’Lara’s hand. She nods, allowing him to connect with her, and within in five seconds, she looks like she’s ready to yank her hand away. “If you want to go down there, you ask Te’Dash yourself. Ugh, fine. But you better keep up. And if you get caught you are on your own.”
That’s interesting. I can’t hear him when he’s talking to someone else.
Te’Lara taps on a door not five feet from the one we just passed and it clicks open with a whoosh of air.
A massive hand guides the door open and holy Xebulin body builders, how have I not seen this guy before? Tatted up with a shaved head like an older superhero version of Rev, he takes up the entire doorway with shoulders so wide, the signature robes all the Tes wear are straining at the seams. I swear if I took a closer look, I’d see two sets of them sewn together.
The hulking blue mass presses himself against the wall to allow us to pass, but he’s so big I have to turn sideways to keep from rubbing up on him. Huey trots on ahead like he already knows where he’s going, and when I don’t hear Te’Lara following behind me, I turn around to see what’s holding her up.
They’re staring at each other. It’s almost like she tried to pass him too, and accidentally touched him because she’s completely frozen in place, her hips only millimeters from his. It goes on for a second and I lose sight of Huey, and when neither of them move, I clear my throat.
I don’t want to mess up what looks like a pretty intense reunion, but I’ve got a lot of studying to do and a set of circles some boy seared onto my chest that need to be dealt with. They can gaze longingly later.
Te’Lara rips her eyes away from who I’m guessing is Te’Dash and half stumbles toward me. She looks over my shoulder and frowns. “Where is Huey?”
“Don’t know, he just took off.”
“Of course, he did. Come on, let’s get you to Ty’Nix’s room. I will now have to go ensure the cooks do not feed him this week’s entire menu. All of them have served in battle on our home planet and he knows they will give him whatever he wants.”
Following after her should be easy since the inside of the male dorm pretty much mirrors ours, but my nerves build with every step and by the time we turn into the hall where his room is I’m about ready to throw up. Lucky for me, there’s a wonderful warmth floating towards us, helping to settle me. Thank God for modern luxuries like automated heat.
I wish I understood why Nix affects me like he does. It’s stupid, really—annoying and inconvenient. I see him every day, and yeah… I get more nervous than I’d like to admit and I still find myself absently searching for him in every room but, I mean, I can actually have a normal conversation without feeling like the butterflies in my stomach are going to take my lower half off with them and leave the rest of me there fumbling my words, right?
Maybe? No?
We come to a stop in front of his door and Te’Lara crosses her arms and turns down her lips in the most teachery way possible. “Do I need to worry about you acting inappropriately?”
“Of course, not. In case you haven’t noticed, he barely tolerates me. The only body contact that’s going to happen in there is him trying to throw me off his balcony because I’ve pissed him off.”
She laughs. “Do not take it personally, Cherise. He is that way with everyone.” Her voice lowers, “As is his father.” With that she starts off down the hall and looks over her shoulder. “You have fifteen minutes. Use it wisely.”
Wisely. Right. How do I do that exactly? Well, knocking on the door is probably a start.
Mustering all the girl balls I can, I hold my breath and rap my fingers against the wood. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, guess he’s not going to answer, better go.
Taking off like the chicken that I am, I only make it three steps before his door swings open.
“Cherise?” I stop and turn around, not sure of what to say. Every time I see him all my words dry up. He curses under his breath, looks both ways to make sure the halls are clear and ushers me inside his room. “What are you doing here? You know it’s against the rules, right?”
He shuts his door, barely making a peep, and when he faces me, a blush blooms across my cheeks. He’s in those stupid hot gray sweatpants that hang low on his hips, and I swear I try to keep my eyes above his waist but I fail miserably. Thank goodness he’s got on a regular hoodie sweatshirt because I don’t think I have the strength to ignore his abs right now.
“Te’Lara pulled some strings to get me in.”
His brows climb up to his hairline. “She knows you’re here?”
“Yeah. It’s kind of an emergency.”
He turns down his music and moves his free weights off a nearby chair so I have somewhere to sit. Thank the stars he didn’t ask me to sit on his bed. I might die.
“Okay. Tell me what was so important you had to come all the way over here and break campus rules.” The dark strands of his midnight hair hang freely over his eyes, giving him this alien James Dean vibe, but I force myself to concentrate.
My heart starts to pound in my chest and my palms get sweaty. Since I’ve already removed the elastic wrap, the very tip of the mark is peaking out the top of the V in my shirt.
“Umm… It’s kind of embarrassing, but…” I drag a finger down the bottom of the V, just enough so he can get an idea of what I’m dealing with. “I need help masking the way this makes me feel.”<
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I haven’t had the courage to actually meet his eyes, but when I do there’s an intensity there I don’t expect. His jaw is clenched tight, nostrils flaring, hands in fists at his sides. “Cover that up.”
“It’s not what you think. I don’t want it there.“
Something else flickers in his emerald eyes and he shakes his head. “No way. I don’t want anything to do with messing with someone’s mark.”
“Look, I didn’t exactly want to come here, either. But Te’Lara said she thought if I got better at keeping up my defenses, it might help me with the more painful parts of the mark dying. She said you always keep yours up.”
He turns away from me to put a stack of books on the floor back in his shelf. “How bad does it hurt you?”
I rub the mark absentmindedly. “It’s not too bad right now, just burns. But she said it only gets worse before it gets better, and I have to concentrate in class. You know firsthand all the stuff I have to learn and winter break starts in less than two weeks, not to mention the touch games. I can’t afford any distractions.”
“There’s no big secret on how to master it. Just practice like we’ve talked about. You’ll be fine,” he says, still too busy messing with the crap on his bookshelf to bother looking at me.
“Seriously? You can’t take two seconds to actually think about someone other than yourself?”
He stiffens at the accusation and turns around. “Don’t pretend to understand my life, Cherise. You’re not even close.”
Pissed, I hop up, fists clenched. “Oh, I get it, all right. You’re an almighty Ty’, too hot and too important for the peons who scurry beneath your feet like me. I don’t even know why I bothered coming here. Thinking that you could get over yourself long enough to see how shitty this is for me.”
Anger flares in his emerald eyes. “Shitty for you? What about the dude that put it on your chest? Ever consider maybe he’s miserable, too? Or are you just resigned to playing the victim like you always do?”
“No. No, I haven’t because news flash, I haven’t seen him since he left me dying in the gym.”
“Don’t be dramatic, your Raska was there. Huey would never have let you die. And in case you didn’t notice, I volunteered to spearhead the search to save your ass. You’re welcome.”
I double over in mock laughter. “Save me? Ha! More like get yourself even more brownie points with your dad and the other Assembly people. Don’t you dare sit there and pretend you did it for me. For all I know you, were in on the joke to begin with.”
“What are you even talking about? What joke?”
Caught up in all the emotions swirling inside me, I lose the tight grip on my control and the dam breaks. Lips trembling, I shake my head. “Nothing, never mind.”
He steps in my way when I try to leave and this time, his voice softens. “What joke?”
I look away, trying to hide the tears gathering in the corners of my eyes. If I respond, I know they’ll fall, and I don’t want to cry in front of him. Warmth cascades across my chest and snakes out in all directions as he taps the mark through my shirt. “This? You think the poor sap who put this there did it as a joke?”
“Well, he didn’t exactly stick around to say otherwise.” I sniffle then swallow hard, annoyed at myself for being so vulnerable. Finding my strength, I push past him and head out his door but stop when he calls after me.
He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. “I don’t know if it will help, but when I was younger, I’d picture a wall in my mind.”
“Thanks,” I mutter, leaning on his door frame. He comes over and grabs the handle to close it behind me.
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think it was a joke. Whoever he was…accident or not…I think he meant it.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
A loud gurgle pierces the early morning silence in my room and Huey whines, flopping over for what must be the hundredth time. He’s been like this all night. Moaning like he’s about to give birth, and judging by the size of his bloated belly, he’s close but it’s not a baby that’s going to come out. Apparently he managed to eat half a cow before Te’Lara found him down in the dorm kitchens.
His stomach turns over again, and Tia groans, punching her pillow in an effort to get comfortable.
“You too, huh?” I call out. I was hoping she managed to get into deep sleep before his gastric shenanigans began but the giant bags under her eyes tell a different story.
“I swear it’s eating itself. Uggggh, can’t you just make him go outside? He sounds like he’s about to crap the bed.”
“I’ve tried. He won’t move.”
He gags in his sleep, and Tia throws off her covers and stumbles out of bed. “That’s it. I’m going to go sleep in the lounge. This is ridiculous.”
One leg in and one leg out of her pants, she staggers around trying to pull them on in the dim light when her alarm starts to blare. “What? No! It’s still early.” Confused by the gray sky outside, I check my own and sure enough it’s already seven.
Huey rubs his face against the covers, finally finding a comfortable spot, and Tia narrows her eyes. “Oh, no you don’t, you big brat. Get up!” She stomps over and tries to shove him but he barely moves.
Even ramming her shoulder into his side doesn’t work. He just hardens his skin and kicks at her like a horse swatting a fly.
“Ugh! Fine. Whatever, I need to study for the games, anyway.” I pull at the covers, trying to adjust them, and she yanks them off. “Don’t even think about it. I might not be able to wake sleeping beauty over here, but you’re coming with me.”
“Whyyyy? All I do is study, I just want to sleep.”
Her pillow grazes the side of my head, and she bends to grab another one. I return her fire with a house shoe and a pair of socks.
“Okay, okay.” Throwing up my hands in defeat, I grab the first pair of decent smelling pants I can find and slide into them. Too tired to worry about showing my mark, I throw on one of the black sweatshirts they gave us for Professor Te’Vrah’s class and hurry after Tia.
By the time we get to the dining hall, the early birds have already started to straggle in, so we pick a seat in the far back with fewer distractions. I grab us a couple of muffins while Tia pours the coffee and we both collapse into our seats.
“Oka—” I start to say, but Tia holds up a finger and takes four huge gulps of coffee. “Better?”
She nods and pulls out the worn Neuris gloves Professor Ha’Jahn lent us. “If we start with image retrieval this morning and we can both successfully pull them, we can practice truth differentiation during lunch.”
The banana nut muffin sticks in my throat, and I start to cough. “No way, I’m not trying out.” I manage between gasping breaths. “I told you what I heard Ha’Jahn say, none of them want me to participate. I’m not going to give them a chance at embarrassing me.”
“Not trying out will be worse. They’ll make you work. Supply water and help organize the scores...”
“I don’t care. I’m already way high on the council’s radar, and if something else goes wrong, who knows what they’ll do. I’m not taking any chances. I’m fine with being in the background.” The coffee slides down like molten lava and I sputter, covering my mouth. “How in the heck did you drink that? Holy crap that’s hot.”
“Oh, I put an ice cube in mine.”
Hold. Up. For. One. Second.
“I’m sorry, you what? I take it back. I can’t be friends with someone who does that.”
She stares at me for a second before my sarcasm registers. “Don’t you dare make fun of me.”
Crumbs go flying as she flicks them my way and I bat a few back. “Fine, whatever, give me your stupid hand.”
Resting my head on the table, I close my eyes and clear my mind, hoping that all the thoughts of Vrae and Rev and Nix don’t screw up my concentration. Last week was the first time I found the image instantly. After getting a bit cocky, Tia burst my bubble by telling me the memor
ies were only level five. Most eleventh years like us are on level thirty or higher.
She explained that after every set of memories you interpret and retrieve, the next images are woven deeper, so that by the time you reach mastery at level fifty, you’ve gained significant strength. Let’s just hope I can manage all that by this time next year.
Once she’s got the practice glove on, Tia slides her hand into mine and I let the energy guide me.
“Take your time on these ones. I had her program them to level twenty.” I snort and she kicks me under the table. “I’m serious. Focus. You can do this. You’ve come so far over the past month. If you can interpret these, there’s no way you don’t hit mastery next year.”
“All right, stop being so distracting. I’m trying to concentrate.” I nearly spit out my coffee trying to not to laugh and take a deep breath.
Okay, Cherise. Chill out.
There’s resistance at first, like the little tug I feel is yanking me up a steep slope. My ears heat, and my head starts to throb as I push the resistance from behind, helping it climb higher and higher until I reach the top. There’s a wall there, a firm pressure preventing me from passing through.
Based on what I’ve read in my textbooks, I know I’m supposed to pass through it. Keep fighting until I’m strong enough to force my way through. But there’s something inside me…an instinct, maybe? Calling me to pull.
Ignoring the logic, I give in, letting the energy do what it wants, and like it has a life of its own, it spreads across the wall and rips it down. Images fly through my mind. A small red planet. Two kittens playing in the grass. A boy with a silver drum.
The images keep filtering in until a bright light flashes behind my lids and pain ricochets through my finger.
